The Only Hope
by Dobokoyuramon
Summary: Dib is hurled into this journey when he meets a female Irken on a mission. It's a race to save earth, and they desperately need Zim's help. But is earth the only planet that hangs in the balance?
1. Perchance To Meet

Dib squinted through the harsh rain as he pulled his coat over his head miserably. It was a good twenty minutes after school, but he could hardly get three feet in the rain that beat his skin raw. Once he ventured out again, he immediately had to seek cover once more under a large tree. He was wet and freezing by now, and he was also lost. "Great…" he mumbled. "Gaz's probably home by now." He thought about finding a phone to call home, but his dad would not be there, and his sister wouldn't even answer the phone. Looking frantically from left to right, Dib rushed back out into the rain and ran for the nearest alley way. He would have to do something. He would have to stay somewhere. He ran as fast as he could, almost slipping many times on the slick ground. Eventually, he almost couldn't breathe the water was so heavy. He sputtered and gasped until he reached a stone wall, where he leaned to take in a mass of air. He had reached the end of an alley.

            "Hey, kid!" shouted a voice from behind him. "You lookin' for a place to go?"

            Dib turned as he wiped the water from his glasses and grinned. "Yeah!" he said brightly, relieved someone had found him. "Can you help me out?"

            "Sure can!" the tall man came closer and rung out the end of his long shirt. "You know anyone around here?"

            "No, I think I might be lost!" Dib admitted, trying to recognize the buildings around him. 

            "Uh-huh." The man took Dib by the shoulder. "Let's get further back into the alley."

            Dib obeyed quickly, backing up until he found the wall. "Thanks, I thought I'd be stuck out here forever!"

            "Yeah…don't mention it!" the man yelled over the pouring rain. "Look, uh, I'm just waiting for my buddy, okay? When he picks us up, we'll drop you off at home, alright?" 

            "Great, thanks!" Dib said again, pulling his coat around his body tighter. 

            "It's cold out here, huh?" he asked, kneeling down.

            "Yep." Dib cleared his throat. He started to rub Dib's shoulders harshly to warm him up.

            "Hey, you should take you coat off. It's wet." He tugged at Dib's collar. 

            "Uh, that's okay." He suddenly started to feel slightly uncomfortable. 

            "Come on, I don't bite." He patted Dib on the head. 

            "Um…" Dib swallowed a hard lump in his throat and moved away.

            "It would be better for the both of us if you just took it off." The man took the boy's arm. 

            "Y-you know, maybe this isn't a good idea. I don't want you to go out of your way or anything." Dib was rapidly getting very nervous. 

            "No trouble." He said, forcing off Dib's trench coat. 

            "No, stop!" Dib ordered, trying to pull his coat back. 

            "You know what I want." The tall man snapped, ripping the coat off and shoved Dib onto his back. He began to unbuckle his belt.

            "Stop, please, don't!" Dib screamed, emotional agony coursing through his mind. Despite all of the rain, he knew that the hot water in his eyes were in fact tears.

            "Just gimme what I want!" the adult tried furiously to tear away Dib's pants. 

            "You!" cried a soft voice from behind. 

            Guiltily, the man turned and tried to hide Dib from view. "Yes?" he said quickly.

            The figure was cloaked, and was obviously female by the pitch of the voice. "Let him go."

            The man looked around in a desperate panic before rushing towards her. With a surprised yelp, she was grabbed and a hand placed over her mouth. She kicked and yelled with all her might, reminding Dib of an enraged feline. Snapping out of his daze, Dib took action. He grabbed a sharp shard of glass beside him and stood.

            "Shut up, shut UP!" the man shrieked as he tried to quiet the girl. 

            Dib thrust the shard into the man's with a high jump, drawing a spurt of blood and a scream. He let go of the girl, and she pounced away, quickly drawing two items from her cloak. She rose above her head one of these items, a strange looking spur, and drilled it into the man's chest. The other disappeared into his crotch with a crack and splatter. 

            He fell to the ground with a dry choke, and vomited wildly until he passed out.

            Dib was beyond horror for the moments he stared at the rapist on the ground, but the girl's voice snapped him back to reality. "Are you alright?" 

            Dib fastened his pants back around his waist swiftly and nodded. "I…he was gonna…" he shuddered. "I don't know how to thank you…but…who are you?"

            She took Dib's hand and led him under a ledge, where the rain was blocked. She threw off her hood, revealing that she was an Irken girl. Her large, light blue crystalline eyes scanned him over, and sweat dripped off of her long, flat, curled antennae. "My name is Iyn." She said. "And I suppose I owe you the same gratitude."


	2. Where To Go

            "Whoa!" cried Dib in terror as he jumped back. "Y-you!" he suddenly turned into his usual paranormal self. "You're-wh-what _Zim_ is!" he hissed.

            Iyn blinked and cocked her head. "C-calm down, please." She held out her hands.

            "You're not even wearing a disguise!" he plucked on of her black antennae.

            "Ouch!" she swiped his hand away. "Yes, yes, I know well what I am!" she said, putting her hood back on. 

            "What are you doing here!? Has the invasion started!?" Dib concluded.

            "Please…" something in her tone stopped him. "I've been tracking you for hours."

            "What…why?" Dib was now sparked by a curiosity that delved too deep within for him to run.

            "My ship crashed two days ago." She explained. "I saw you this afternoon with a device that proved somewhat close to Irken machinery. I have never seen a human that has had such knowledge."

            "Well.." Dib modestly looked away.

            "You have to help me…" she begged, holding out her hands. "I can explain everything to you later…but I have to get out of the rain…"

            "Why should I help you?" he growled, backing away once more. "You're an alien!"

            She looked at Dib with a scowl, then at the crumpled man on the ground. She returned her gaze to the boy. Dib looked down, eyes wide, but quickly narrowed. "I…I-I guess you can come back to my lab. But…but don't try anything funny!" he sighed. "Wait…I'm still lost though."

            "I can take you back." Iyn informed. She held her wrist to her mouth. "R.I.I., coordinates 3.4673 miles from collision sight, southeast."

            Minutes later, a small S.I.R. unit landed in front of the two. "Master, preparations for emergency protocol are in order." 

            "Good work, R.I.I." she said. "Direct us, if you will." She said to Dib.

            "Direct yo-oooaa!!" Dib yelled in surprise as he was lifted off of the ground by the arm of the robot as it blasted away into the sky.

            When they arrived at home, Iyn pulled her hood tightly over her head and entered the front door. Gaz sat at the kitchen table with her game set, not bothering to look up. "What happened to you?" she grumbled.

            "I got lost." He muttered.

            "Whatever." 

            "Come on," whispered Dib to Iyn as he led her to his lab. "But don't touch anything." 

            Iyn sat on a table and shivered, throwing off her robe. R.I.I. took a position by the entrance. "Thank you." She almost whispered.

            "Yeah…" he watched her suspiciously for a while. "So what are you doing here?"

            Iyn pulled up her boots and smiled. "I was on a scouting mission. My ship was damaged and I had to make an emergency landing here."

            For the first time, in the light, Dib realized that her skin was snowy white. "Are you…an albino?"

            Iyn blinked. "I am not familiar with that term."

            "You're so…white." Dib's distrust was beginning to develop into fascination.

            "Our race ranges from any flesh tone from yellow to green, as light as white, or as dark as black." She explained. "But that isn't the reason I came to you…" she looked down as her stomach growled. 

            Dib looked down at the ground and then bit his lip. "Well, I guess I could…smuggle some food for you."

            She brightened. "Would you?" 

            "Yeah…" Dib nervously edged upstairs and to the refrigerator. 

            Gaz remained unmoved. "What are you doing?" she asked. 

            "Just getting a snack." He said.

            "You better not touch my pizza." She warned. 

            "Yeah, yeah." Dib gathered a few things and fixed some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. When he brought them back down to the lab, Iyn was pricking a finger at the x-ray machine. "Hey, I said no touching!" he growled.

            Iyn looked away like a guilty child, but was quickly brought out of it by the sandwich in front of her. She shoved it into her mouth in a single bite and swallowed, much to Dib's disgust. "Thank you." She said again.

            "Yeah, don't mention it." He began examining R.I.I., trying not to get too close. "How do I know you two weren't sent to kill me?"

            "Because I would've tried to do that already." She said simply. 

            "Well, I guess." He thought for a moment. He looked down upon feeling a tap on his shoulder. 

            It was R.I.I. "Could I have a sandwich?" he asked in a very deep, angry sounding voice. 

            "Uh…okay…" Dib handed him one. 

            Upon trying to shove it in his mouth, the two slices of bread split and his face went right into the filling. "Awww, SHOOT!" he threw the remains of the sandwich and shifted his arm into combat mode. Two small missiles emerged where his hands once were. 

            "R.I.I., no!" Iyn squealed. 

            The robot looked disappointed, but refrained from blasting the sandwich into oblivion. 

            "So how long do you and your crazy robot plan on staying here?" Dib asked, irritated.

            "I was doing important research on a prison shuttle just north of Irk." She yawned. "Can I please begin my story in the morning?"

            "The morning?" Dib let his arms fall to his sides. "What makes you think…" he paused as she coughed pathetically. "Oh…alright!" he grumbled. "But you're gonna have to stay in my room. When Dad comes home, he does his work down here."

            "Very well…I…" she looked at him a long while with an expectant stare.

            "Oh, uh, sorry. My name's Dib." He motioned for her to follow as he led her out back into the kitchen.

            "Hey Gaz, boy I'm tired, I think I'll hit the hay, tell Dad that I went to bed early and all, no I don't want dinner, I'll see ya." Dib said this all very quickly as he rushed by to his room, dragging Iyn behind him. Once they were both in the room, Dib shut the door and locked it with a breath of relief. 

            Iyn walked over to a naked area on the carpet and sat. "You have my gratitude, Dib." She said.

            The last thing Dib felt like doing was sleeping while knowing a treacherous alien sat in his room, so he sat across from her. "Why did you…you know, help me out?"

            Iyn looked over at R.I.I., and then at her hands. "Just because I'm not human doesn't mean I'm not humane." She looked into Dib's eyes with a rather disappointed stare.

            Dib suddenly felt rather guilty. 

            "They do have rape on other planets. If anyone or anything can stop it, then they should. It doesn't matter who or what you are." Iyn shifted to lean against the dresser and close her eyes. 

            "…so why are you trusting me?" Dib looked at her, wonderment for once replacing suspicion.

            Her eyes opened once more, and she smiled. "It's part of my job, Dib. You have to decide who you can trust, and who you can't. One mistake can mean life or death, or something worse." 

            "Uh-huh." Dib swallowed and turned away. Soon, Iyn was asleep, Dib watching her thoughtfully. 


	3. Where We Are

            The next morning, Dib, Iyn, and Gaz all sat at the table. Dib dressed Iyn in a baseball cap and a T-shirt in hope to pass her off as a friend. She kept the hat low over her eyes and ate her bowl of cereal in silence. 

            "Who's your weird friend, Dib?" Gaz asked as she guzzled a soda. 

            "Uh, no one. She just…um, she doesn't get a lot of sun, right Iyn?" he excused.

            "Sun? Yes, the sun. I…don't use…the…sun." she shoved a few more bites of food into her mouth.

            "She's whatever Zim is, isn't she?" Gaz asked carelessly.

            "No, no, of course not! Why would she be-how'd you guess?" 

            "I'm not stupid." Gaz mumbled, getting down from the table to look for something to eat. 

            Professor Membrane came in the room with a yawn. "Good morning, children." 

            "Dad!" Dib cried in panic. "I-I thought you were at work!"

            "No, no, son. It's Saturday. I work at home today." He informed, sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.

            "Uh…"

            "So who's your friend, son?" he asked, turning to Iyn. 

            "Uh…she…she's a…just a girl from school." Dib bit his lip, feeling his stomach burn with nervousness. 

            "Ah, you kids grow up so fast." He patted Dib on the head. "Already inviting girls over. That's wonderful. Well, I'm going to go solve world hunger. If you'll excuse me." He stood and took his coffee down into his lab.

            "That was close." Dib sunk down in his seat with a sigh. He then looked around to make sure no one else was in the room. "Okay, so what's your story? Why did you come here?"

            She cleared her throat. "Well, I don't know if you're familiar at all with Irken custom…"

            "Nah, I just learn what I can from Zim." He admitted.

            "…Who is this Zim?" she asked, eying him.

            "He's…he's another alien. See, he came here to-"

            "The other Irken?" she stood quickly. 

            "Uh, I guess, but-"

            "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" she tapped her watch and R.I.I. appeared at her side. 

            "Well-"

            Iyn grabbed his arm and rushed out the door before he could protest.

            "G.I.R., hand me that sub-atomic particle beam plasma containment field manual." Zim ordered, holding his hand out behind him as he worked away at a machine.

            "Heeere you go!" Zim felt something wet and mushy in his hand.

            "G.I.R.! What is this?" he growled, looking at his hand.

            "Oatmeal!" G.I.R. began to laugh wildly as he ate the mush from Zim's hand.

            Zim narrowed his eyes. "The sub-atomic particle beam plasma containment field manual! Not oatmeal!"

            G.I.R. stared at Zim for a long time. 

            "Never mind!" he grumbled. "I'll get it myself." 

            Suddenly, the alarm went off. "DOOR BELL." The computer bleeped. 

            "I'll get it!!" shrieked G.I.R. as he jumped into his dog suit. 

            "No!" Zim ordered. "The last time you answered the door, you let two idiot aliens in who shoved us in a sack!" Zim quickly put on his disguise and stood on the panel that lifted him into his kitchen/bathroom. Walking to the door, he cleared his throat and opened it. "Dib?" he asked in disgust upon seeing two figures at his door. "What are you doing here?" 

            "How should I know?" he snapped. 

            Iyn pulled Dib in the door and shut it behind them. 

            "Hey, who do you think you are?!" Zim fumed. "You can't just come into my home and-"

            "My apologies." She said, casting away her hat and T-shirt. 

            "Irken?" Zim stopped and froze.

            "Yes. Now there's much to explain to you in short time. Are you willing to listen?" 

            Zim discarded his costume as well and looked at her. "You're not here to steal my mission, are you?"

            Iyn took Zim by the shoulders. "You don't understand! This is more important  

 then your mission!" 

            "Nonsense!" he pushed he away. "The Tallests have given me but one duty, and I shall do it. Nothing else can be more important."

            "Look, I have to warn you-"

            "I'm going to call the Tallests and explain to them the situation, not to mention ask why you are here." Zim said.

            "The Tallests are not so easily sided with me, you have to listen!"

            "Quiet!" Zim grabbed her by the shirt collar and threw her to the couch. He raised the picture of the monkey behind the couch to reveal a screen.

            "I'm outta here!" Dib said, backing away.

            "No, wait! You both have to listen to me." She insisted, holding out her hands. 

            "You do realize if you aren't authorized to be here it is a serious breach in protocol?" Zim asked.

            Dib was reaching for the handle of the door. 

            "No!" Iyn snapped. Both boys turned to her in shock as she wielded a small firearm. "I'm sorry, but I can't allow either of you to leave without hearing me out."


	4. Where We've Been

            "What is this!?" Zim screamed in a furious yet almost comical tone. 

            "What's the big idea?!" Dib felt betrayed and angry.

            "I'm sorry." Iyn said, narrowing her eyes. "But you _must_ listen to me. You're my only hope for this planet and many others."

            "G.I.R.!" Zim called. "Defensive mode!" 

            G.I.R. walked into the living room and stared at the scene for a very long time before walking back into the kitchen to get himself a drink.

            "Will you listen or not?" by this time Iyn was getting quite angry.

            "Okay, okay!" Dib held up his hands in surrender. 

            "Very well…" Zim growled. "But if you kill me, my robot will send you into the dungeon of…not…happy…painy things!" he shook a fist as though it would emphasize his point.  

            "Both of you, into the kitchen." She ordered, waving the gun in that direction. The two wandered cautiously into the kitchen and sat at the table. Iyn holstered her weapon and sat as well. 

            "Now just who do you think you are?" Zim hissed, clawing into the wood of the table. 

            "My name is Iyn." She started.

            "Irkens have no business on unconquered planets unless they are one of the elite invaders. If you're not here to do so, than what is it?" Zim pounded his fist on the table.

            "Well, I-"

            "What is it?!" Zim interrupted.

            "I was-"

            "What is it?!"

            "Look, I'm-"

            "WHAT IS IT?!" 

            "Shut up!" Iyn barked, standing and grabbing the edges of the table. She gripped her antennae and pulled downward, sighing in exasperation. "I grew up on the planet Kerox, a long way from Irk."

            "Kerox?" Zim smirked. "That is where the leftovers and scraps of the galaxy go. It's full of fugitives and scum!" 

            "Can I finish?" one of her eyes twitched in annoyance. The two were silent. "Let me just get to the point. I come from a missionary vessel that has been orbiting the galaxy for the past month."

            "Uh-huh." Agreed R.I.I. as he wandered into the kitchen. "Can I have a sandwich?" his deep voice disturbed the three. 

            "G.I.R.! Come and…distract this creature!" Zim said.

            G.I.R. turned from his place by the fridge and flashed red. "Yes sir." He said. "Come on, robot!!" he yelled in his normal voice, snatching R.I.I. by the arm and dragged him into the living room. "We're gonna watch the scary monkey show!"

            "Awwwww, I hate monkeys!" R.I.I. blared.

            The three watched the robots run off, and then returned to the story. "What about this vessel is so important?" Zim asked.

            "I was on a mission far north of Irk on another vessel." She stopped for a moment. "Well, firsts things first. The ship I live on, Tyren Ray, is shared with many other aliens. We've often been called the freedom fighters of the universe. There are many of our ships throughout many galaxies…but we're not looked upon to kindly. We call ourselves OAPID. It stands for Organization Against Planetary Invasion and/or Destruction."

            "Fools!" Zim snorted, folding his arms. "It was _you_ who cost the Irken Empire fifty-two planets in twenty years!"

            Iyn nodded. "For sixty years, OAPID has been chasing a group of renegades that are called the O'kandae. They're a species who left their damned planet when their sun imploded, and have been seeking other planets ever since." She raised her eyes and them brought them back down. "They move from planet to planet…with each planet they conquer, they kill the males and capture the females to try and increase their numbers. These females are raped viciously and tormented until they give birth. The female usually dies due to childbirth, poor conditions, or the rape itself. Not only do they ravage the women and slaughter the males, but they also destroy the planet afterwards."

            "Such a waste." Zim mumbled. "What does it matter to me?"

            "They have no regard for planets marked by the Irken or any other empire. They take whatever they find and use it to their advantage." Iyn shook her head. "So you can see why we've been after them."

            "That's terrible." Dib said. 

            "Yes, yes, terrible. Now what does this have to do with your presence on my planet?" Zim asked.

            "Hey, this is _our_ planet!" Dib argued.

            "Not for long, filthy human scu-"

            "Please, the both of you!" Iyn yelled. "R.I.I., come in here." She ordered.

            The S.I.R. unit reentered the room and saluted. She typed a code into his arm, and his eyes lit up, projecting an image onto Zim's wall. It showed a titanic ship cruising along. "This is their ship, the Black Harlequin. My mission was to stow away onboard and discover their plans for their next abduction." The image on the wall switched to Iyn wearing a cloak in some sort of cell. 

            A tall guard with arms longer than his legs and two large yellow eyes on his flat head walked by and bent down to her, taking care to ensure the other guards were not watching. "Iyn, the mission is becoming too dangerous." The projected guard said.

            "This was Alagar. He was my partner in this mission, and O'kandae himself turned ally. This was all filmed by a small, unnoticeable camera that was assigned to follow us in case we were terminated. If they could find the camera, they might still be in luck." Iyn informed to Dib and Zim.

            "They're planning to use you soon." Alagar continued. "We can't stay here much longer."

            The image Iyn clutched the bars with her hands and looked up. "We can't abort the mission, Alagar. You know they monitor prisoners very closely."

            "And how do you intend to escape?" he asked, looking around once more to see if anyone was looking. 

            "Feeding time. You will take me to a craft and we will return to Tyren Ray. Did you obtain the information of the next abduction?" she said.

            "Yes." He said, handing her a small chip. "Store it in your S.I.R. unit until further notice." He looked up as the loudspeaker whined and a voice came out over the intercom. 

            "All prisoners report for feeding." The metal cell wall flew to the ceiling, freeing Iyn into the hall.

            "R.I.I., I need you." Iyn said quickly. R.I.I. suddenly appeared out of thin air, his invisibility cloak vanishing. She handed him the chip and he stored it into his head, then jumped onto her back and returned to his invisible state. Alagar looked around and then scowled at Iyn as the first hoard of prisoners began to shuffle into the hall. 

            "Come on, rodent!" he snapped, shoving her out of the cell. "Don't keep me waiting!" he kept a tight hold on her shoulder as they walked down the hall. "I'm taking you to the childbirth quarters." He whispered to her. "No one will suspect anything that way. From there, we'll use the vents to get to a shuttle in the hanger." He quickly looked up as another guard walked by. "This one's ready." Alagar snarled, giving Iyn a harsh shove. "I'm taking her down."

            "Right." Nodded the other guard. 

            Alagar took Iyn swiftly into the chamber where the labor went on and shut the door behind him. "The other guards are on a lunch break as well. But we'll have to be quick about it."

            Iyn turned upon hearing a groan to find a small female alien hunched in the corner, bleeding. She went to the injured alien and knelt down. "She's hurt…" Iyn said to her partner. 

            "Iyn, we don't have the time." He insisted, pointing to the vent in the ceiling. 

            The female creature was chained to the wall corner, beaten beyond recognition of her species. The Irken examained her and discovered that it had been but minutes after she had given birth, and she was mutilated because of it. The unnatural child in her womb tore her to shreds trying to emerge. It was left to guess whether the child had lived or not. Iyn gently placed her hand on the girl's head. 

            "My…baby…" she sputtered in a harsh, choked whisper. Sobs where coming thin from her, suggesting she was to die soon. 

            "Shh…" Iyn wiped the blood from the alien's eyes with the end of her cloak. 

            "Iyn-" Alagar was becoming urgent.

            "We can't just leave her here, Alagar!" she insisted, cradling the dying prisoner. 

            "Iyn, remember our mission!" the larger alien pleaded. "The guards-" 

            With that statement, the door opened at two guards entered the room. "What are you two doing in here?" one asked, taking his gun. 

            Alagar grabbed Iyn and shoved her into the vent, closing it behind her in a flash. "Alagar, no! What are you-" she cried. 

            "Get out, now!" he bellowed. A shot fired and Alagar grunted, falling back and out of Iyn's view. 

            She desperately grabbed the bars and tried to push the bottom out, but where Alagar's strength had pushed it in place, she could not undo it. R.I.I. turned visible and pulled on her arm. "Master, we gotta go!" he pointed up. 

            "Not without Alagar!" she said, pounding on the grating. 

            "Master, the mission! If we don't get out with the info, a whole planet's gonna be all doomy!!"

            Iyn gritted her teeth and dodged a bullet headed her way. Looking down, she saw the two guards taking aim. Deploying her spider legs, she scaled the vents quickly until she reached the end. With a powerful kick, she sent the grate flying and jumped out onto the floor below. Landing with a soft click onto the metal floor, she ran to a shuttle pod and jumped into it. Shutting the hatch of the pod, she launched it into space. The camera was now in front of her, and she was crying miserably as she piloted the ship. "R.I.I., turn that damn thing off, NOW!" she cried, angrily reaching for it. R.I.I.'s hand blocked the lens before the camera went off. The projection from the robot's eyes dulled, flickered, then vanished. 

            Iyn sat at the table looking away with a sigh. "I wasn't familiar with the systems of the craft, and so I aimed for Earth, where we crash landed. Here I found Dib." She finished.

            Zim nodded. "And how does this concern me?" Zim asked, a bit more willing to listen. 

            "You're an Invader." She pointed out. "You work directly for the Irken Tallests. The…well…Tyren Ray isn't powerful enough to stop the O'kandae alone, to be quiet honest. Other OAPID colonies are too far away to contact for assistance, and it would take months, even years to find them on a manned shuttle. We don't have that long. We must convince the Irken Empire to help us fight them."

            "I see." Zim said. "But why do you need this awful large-headed thing?!" he glanced at Dib in disgust. 

            "My head is not big!" Dib insisted. 

            "And just why should the Irken Empire help _you_? Your kind cost us many missions and much territory."

            "But the Irkens could be the next to be abducted." Iyn reasoned.

            "Yes, and when they tried, they would be wiped out. And just why should I comply to these commands of yours, despite the futility and risk of suggesting this to the Tallests?" Zim asked.

            Iyn pulled out the chip Alagar had given her and help it up. "Because the next sight for female abduction is Earth."


End file.
